Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge to meet in Richmond

President of Openlands nonprofit will be speaker

Openlands President and CEO Jerry Adelmann will be the featured speaker at the Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge annual meeting Nov. 13 in Richmond.

Adelmann will address the topic of whether Hackmatack really matters.

Members of the public are invited to this free program.

The meeting will be at Memorial Hall, 10308 Main St., Richmond. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for networking and refreshments, with the program set to begin at 7 p.m..

The group also will present its annual Tamarack Award to the McHenry County Conservation District that evening. MCCD has been a partner on land conservation efforts and environmental programming with the organization, which is celebrating its sixth anniversary this month.

The meeting also will be an opportunity for program attendees to meet Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge’s first refuge manager. Todd Boonstra brings his experience working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at refugees from Montana to Hackmatack.

He started his new position at the service in Illinois and Wisconsin last week.

Founded in 1963, Openlands is one of the nation’s oldest and most successful metropolitan conservation organizations, having helped secure, protect and provide public access to more than 55,000 acres of land for parks, forest preserves, wildlife refuges, land and water greenway corridors and urban gardens.

Adelmann has served as its president and CEO since 1988. His leadership helped create Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Openlands Lakeshore Preserve and Hackmatack.

The mission of the Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge is to conserve and enhance the natural and cultural resources, rural character and scenic beauty of the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge and to connect people to these resources.